The announcement is expected to come at a 3 p.m. ET news conference Tuesday.

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The Bears had high hopes for 2009 after trading for quarterback Jay Cutler, but finished 7-9. Since going to Super Bowl XLI, where they lost to the Indianapolis Colts, the Bears are 23-25 and have missed the playoffs three straight seasons.

The Bears are 52-44 under Smith in the regular season and 2-2 in playoff games.

The Bears assistant coaches all went home at noon on Monday and were told to come back Tuesday morning, Schefter reported. Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo were meeting Monday evening, and Angelo was expected to inform Smith that he needs to make changes to his coaching staff.

On Monday at Halas Hall, players expressed support for their head coach.

"I know that across the locker room that we think that he should be here," linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer said after a team meeting with Smith. "I'm under the impression that he will be. I certainly hope he will be. And that's the way he talked to us today."

Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said he is confident Smith and his staff can get the Chicago Bears back to the Super Bowl.

"In this league, any coach can do it," Ogunleye said, adding that a coach needs a little bit of luck and the right players playing well. "At the e

Morris returning to coach BucsComment Email Print ShareESPN.com news servicesTAMPA, Fla. -- Raheem Morris will return for a second season as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs made the announcement in a one-sentence statement from team co-chairman Joel Glazer, who said ownership supports a plan set in motion after the NFL's youngest coach was hired last January.

The move was first reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

The Bucs went 3-13 in the 33-year-old Morris' first season. The club's worst finish since 1991 fueled speculation that the Glazer family might consider a change.

"We are committed to the plan that we began 12 months ago with coach Morris, and we look forward to building on the pieces that were put in place this season," Glazer said.

The announcement came hours after Morris said despite the team's poor record, he believes the Bucs are headed in the right direction.

The coach identified his top offseason priorities on Monday as the continued development of rookie Josh Freeman and using the draft to surround the 21-year-old quarterback with promising young talent.

The Bucs will have five of the first 99 selections, including No. 3 overall.

"You've got to say No. 5's the biggest priority, making sure everything works around him, because when it worked around him, we were able to be successful," Morris said, referring to Freeman's jersey number.

Freeman moved into the lineup following an 0-7 start. He passed for 1,857 yards and 10 touchdowns -- both Tampa Bay rookie records -- but also threw 18 interceptions and was sacked 20 times while going 3-6 and compiling a quarterback rating of 59.9.

"I definitely learned a lot. Obviously I had my ups and my downs, but I got a lot of valuable experience," Freeman said. "I couldn't imagine sitting out this entire season and going into the first game next year not having any game experience."

Besides being encouraged by Freeman's play, Morris felt the Bucs began to establish an identity as a team that runs the ball and plays stingy defense with late-season victories over Seattle and New Orleans.

The Bucs spent much of the year regrouping from the firing of offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski less than two weeks before the season opener. Defensive coordinator Jim Bates was ousted after 10 games, and Morris took over playcalling responsibilities down the stretch.

The head coach was noncommittal about whether former quarterbacks coach Greg Olson will continue as offensive coordinator. He's also pondering whether he will continue to lead a defense that played better under his guidance.

"I've got a feeling year two will be a lot less dramatic for me. There was a lot of stuff going on this year," Morris said, noting there were changes to the roster last winter, including the release of veterans Derrick Brooks, Cato June, Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard and Warrick Dunn.

"We have to find our direction, which we have, keep going that way and keep getting better. It has been a lot of ups and downs. It has been a rough year on all of us. Hopefully next year it could be a lot smoother sailing and a lot better for all of us."

Report: Bears fire Ron TurnerPosted by Mike Florio on January 5, 2010 12:05 PM ETIn a season that could end with Norv Turner being named the NFL's coach of the year, his big brother has coached for his final year in Chicago.

The Bears have fired offensive coordinator Ron Turner, according to Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune.

The long-rumored move comes as no surprise; someone had to take the fall for quarterback Jay Cutler's horrendous performance in his first year with the Bears, and with neither G.M. Jerry Angelo nor coach Lovie Smith on the chopping block, Turner was the obvious scapegoat.

We're told that the rest of the offensive staff also has been fired, clearing a path for the new offensive coordinator to start from scratch.

The obvious candidate? USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, who served as Cutler's position coach in Denver.

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Some interesting newsbreaks are emerging Tuesday morning from the Chicago media. The Bears have not only fired offensive coordinator Ron Turner, according to the Chicago Tribune, but they are also expected to restructure their defensive staff to relieve coach Lovie Smith of his role as the de facto coordinator.

In that arrangement, defensive line coach Rod Marinelli would take over as defensive coordinator. The Bears could hire a defensive line coach to help Marinelli with that position group.

I’ll have more analysis when the Bears presumably make these moves official at a 3 p.m. ET news conference. My first-blush reaction is that Turner needed to move on so the Bears can assemble an offensive philosophy to match the skills of quarterback Jay Cutler.

Much of Turner’s staff will probably go as well. Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago reports that tight ends coach Rob Boras has also been fired. UPDATE: The Tribune is reporting that offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton have been fired as well.

I’m much more dubious about the Marinelli move. I agree that Smith had too much on his plate as the primary playcaller this season. But Marinelli? Long respected as an elite line coach, he’s never been a coordinator at any level. Based on the way his teams played when he was Detroit’s head coach, I would say Marinelli hasn’t demonstrated big-picture organizational skills.

It’s also an unfortunate signal that the Bears will keep the status quo with a defense that fell off a cliff in 2009. Again, more to come later Tuesday.

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Quote:

Detroit vs. EverybodyClowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right....

January 5th, 2010, 2:09 pm

steensn

RIP Killer

Joined: June 26th, 2006, 1:03 pmPosts: 13429

Wow!!! He might actually be a good coordinator though. But as the Peter principle goes... he certainly was no head coach.

Marinelli could be taking over Bears defense
Posted by Mike Florio on January 5, 2010 1:07 PM ET
One year removed from authoring a winless season in Detroit, former Lions coach Rod Marinelli could be moving back into the head-coaching on-deck circle.

We mentioned last night that we've heard Marinelli will be calling the defensive plays in 2010. According to David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune, Marinelli could be doing so not as assistant head coach/defensive line coach, but as defensive coordinator.

Per Haugh, Marinelli remained at Halas Hall on Monday after all assistant coaches were sent home, presumably to talk about his new duties.

Such a move would likely mean that defensive coordinator Bob Babich, whose contract is expiring, won't be back.

But the development is more of a slap at Smith, who took the play-calling duties from Babich in 2008. ally, the Bears are doing to Smith after the season what the Redskins did to former head coach Jim Zorn during the season. The difference? Instead, of giving the duties to a guy who previously was calling out "O-73," Smith has been usurped (or, as Michael Scott would say, "uslurped") by a guy who should have "0-16" tattooed on his forehead.

And speaking of areas of exposed skin, Vaugh McClure of the Chicago Tribune reports that former Lions defensive line coach Joe Cullen, best known for being arrested days apart for drinking drunk while clothed and then sober while naked, was spotted at Halas Hall last week (we assume he was sober and clothed but, hell, who knows?). If Marinelli is bumped up to defensive coordinator, Cullen could replace Marinelli as defensive line coach.

And if Marinelli receives the promotion, it will be the first time he ever has served as a defensive coordinator at the NFL level. He coached the Tampa defensive line exclusively before becoming head coach of the Lions

January 5th, 2010, 3:20 pm

WarEr4Christ

QB Coach - Brian Callahan

Joined: October 26th, 2005, 11:48 pmPosts: 3056Location: Elkhart, In.

There is also talk of Charlie Weiss getting the OC job for Chicago too! That would be fitting: two failed head coaches, but good coordinators! Don't know what that would mean for Chicago though.

There is also talk of Charlie Weiss getting the OC job for Chicago too! That would be fitting: two failed head coaches, but good coordinators! Don't know what that would mean for Chicago though.

Smith has since said that Marinelli won't be the d-coordinator. Also, I agree that Weis was a good coordinator. But Marinelli has never been a coordinator, so we don't know how he'd do. I don't think he really has it in him personally.

_________________"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." - John Adams

“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.” - Neil deGrasse Tyson

January 6th, 2010, 2:13 pm

wjb21ndtown

I think that Weis would be great in Chicago, so I hope they don't get him... Marinelli... I think he's a dolt and would fail at being a DC.

January 6th, 2010, 6:24 pm

sweetd20

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: October 13th, 2005, 9:03 amPosts: 2490

I think Charlie would be a good consideration for whichever team drafts Clausen or Bradford. Clausen for the obvious reason and Bradford because he excels in the short to mid range passes that put Brady on the map when Charlie was in New England. In fact don't rule out a reunion between Charlie and New England at the end of the season. As far as the Bears Martz has said he would like the job of OC.